under the filth

The pet hospital was only two blocks away from the apartment building where they rented. After sending Opera Chow for a physical examination, Eisen took Tang Cen to the Chinese restaurant where they ate together for the first time.

The distance from the pet hospital to the Chinese restaurant is only a few hundred meters, and walking further, not far away is the park where Eisen went for a walk with Tang Cen for the first time.

The two stood in front of the store, and the poster pasted on the door was no longer the original one.As Christmas approaches, restaurants put on Christmas-style posters early, but the content is still about the restaurant's signature dishes.The interior decoration of the restaurant is still the same as before, but the ceiling is full of colorful lights, and a Christmas tree is also placed in the empty space next to the cash register.

The atmosphere of Christmas was everywhere, and Tang Cen had never seen such an atmosphere after returning to China.He was a little nostalgic, but also a little emotional. The last time he planned Christmas with his lover like this was ten years ago.

Time flies too fast, before he has time to leave anything behind, one-third of his life has passed.

Tang Cen looked at Eisen who was ordering food with the waiter sitting across from him, thinking about Christmas plans in his mind.

After the waiter left, Tang Cen rested his chin and asked casually, "Do you have any plans for Christmas this year?"

Christmas is to the British what the Spring Festival is to the Chinese. For some families, it may be the only chance for them to get together.But Eisen chose to stay in a foreign country in order to accompany him. He was so troublesome, this Christmas Tang Cen didn't want to just spend the past casually.

"Do you want to go out and play? Or stay in Paris?" Eisen did have a plan, but he wasn't sure if Tang Cen would like to go out. He just mentioned it now, so we can discuss it together.

"I can do it, what do you think..." Tang Cen couldn't say the rest of the sentence, he saw a pair of somewhat familiar eyes.

In the seat behind them, a young Asian woman sat down with a boy who was only six or seven years old.The boy was facing him, not far away, so Tang Cen could see his appearance clearly - he looked like a mixed race, with black hair and clear blue eyes.

Tang Cen has seen such beautiful eyes before, but their eyes are different. This boy's eyes are full of dependence and trust in his mother, while those eyes are like two translucent sapphires, beautiful but empty, without a trace of emotion .

Eisen noticed Tang Cen's strangeness almost at the same time when he stopped. Tang Cen was looking at him, but his eyes passed him and fell behind him.

Following Tang Cen's line of sight, Eisen saw the child.He had never seen this child before, and he had never heard Tang Cen mention it, but Tang Cen kept looking at him, his eyes filled with unbearable sadness.

Eisen turned his head, took Tang Cen's hand on the table, and wrapped it bit by bit in his palm.He said, "You know him?"

Tang Cen shook his head: "I don't know, I just remembered something."

Every time Tang Cen sees children playing around with their parents, Tang Cen can't help but think of his childhood. He never seemed to be taken to the park or playground by his father to play like ordinary children. , has been locked in that not particularly spacious room.

Even Tang Qian, although he has time to play, is more often accompanied by the housekeeper.Their father has been facing them with a leadership attitude from beginning to end.

Tang Cen rarely has friends of the same age or younger, and he doesn't like to be close to children when he grows up.The words and deeds of the people around are extremely important to an ignorant child, and the child is subtly influenced. He is afraid that he will leave muddy black on the white paper, so he always keeps a respectful distance from the child.

"The first time I went to the hospital, there was a teenager sitting in the psychological measurement room. We didn't speak, but just looked at each other for a long time. I still remember that his eyes were very beautiful blue." Tang Cen's face The expression on his face looked like he was about to cry, his brows were slightly furrowed, but his eyes were not moist at all.He couldn't remember the scene at that time clearly, and he didn't even think that after so many years, he would remember such a long time ago.

He once thought he had forgotten these memories, but they were still firmly engraved on his soul, but after suffering countless times and his body finally got used to them, these things became less important.

"He'll be fine, and so will you."

Eisen shook his hand vigorously, the strength and heat from his palm brought Tang Cen back to his senses.

That lunch was quiet, and the atmosphere between the two became a little delicate because of Tang Cen's words. Tang Cen was embarrassed to speak, and Eisen didn't think about what to say.

After paying the bill, the two left the restaurant together, and when they were walking towards the pet hospital, Tang Cen suddenly asked about Lei Meng: "Your elder brother... what kind of person is he?"

Eisen thought about it carefully, and briefly described the image of Raymond in his memory: "Steamy, conservative, a little xenophobic, relatively selfish, but he will not force others."

Exclusive, self.Eisen's evaluation made Tang Cen subconsciously think that Raymond would be a difficult person to get along with.Tang Cen was a little worried that they would definitely meet again later. He was worried that he would leave a bad impression on Lei Meng, although he might have left it now.

As Eisen was talking, he caught a glimpse of the uncomfortable expression on Tang Cen's face from the corner of his eye and changed his words: "Those who are not familiar with him may find him difficult to get along with, but in fact he doesn't interfere with other people's affairs, even if When we return to the UK in the future, we won’t meet him very often, so we don’t have to worry about not being able to get along with him.”

"When I was young, he always couldn't understand me, thinking that my words and deeds were too rude and not like a gentleman." Eisen couldn't help chuckling when he remembered the scene of being held down by Raymond to learn etiquette when he was a child, " He always told his mother not to spoil me too much, but he would bring me gifts every time he went out, and he often told me about interesting things he encountered outside."

Because of his father's work, Raymond studied with his father all year round. Eisen didn't spend much time with him, and the relationship between the two of them was mainly because Raymond bullied him.

But aside from these, Raymond is a very conscientious elder brother. Their age difference is too large, but there is no deep generation gap.

Parents always doted on their young second son, and Eisen was the same when he was a child. The Sterlings were too tolerant of him, which led to his initial stubborn personality.At that time, the young and energetic Raymond was not as calm as he is now, and when he was teased by his ignorant younger siblings, he always taught them straightforwardly.

In Eisen's childhood, Raymond was more like a father than his elder brother.

It was also because Raymond corrected him and taught him that he got rid of his flaws and slowly grew into what he is now.

The eldest brother is like a father, and the situation in the Eisen family is almost the same.

"Is he married?" Tang Cen tried his best to recall, but he couldn't remember whether Lei Meng was wearing a ring or not.

The content of the conversation between them relayed by Eisen, together with the present, made Tang Cen roughly understand what Raymond was like, only for his younger brother, how would it be for other people?

Although it is not a formal meeting with the parents, meeting Raymond is not much different from meeting Eisen's parents.

"Raymond is 14 years older than me. He got married when I was still in junior high school, and he was his first love for ten years."

As far back as Eisen could remember, he could often see Raymond and Elizabeth, who was his girlfriend at the time, at home.At that time, Elizabeth could not be regarded as Eisen's sister-in-law, but their family had acquiesced in the relationship between the two of them. After graduating from university, the two got married as a matter of course, and raised three children together for more than ten years after marriage. .

"Elizabeth is very kind to me. Every time I come to the house, she will bring us some candy, and most of the time the taste is different." Recalling his childhood, he was like a child who stole candy. I couldn't hide my smile, "Because I would receive gifts and hear stories every time, so I especially liked meeting Raymond and Elizabeth at that time."

Memories of the past were like a surging tide, surging up from the depths of his mind one after another, and Eisen suddenly remembered the grand wedding of Raymond and Elizabeth at that time.

"Tang Cen, you know, although I was very young when Raymond got married, I still remember the scene when they got married."

"Ramon loves Elizabeth very much. He said that he hoped that Elizabeth would only get married once in this life, and wanted to give Elizabeth a perfect wedding, so he planned the wedding himself, and he gave Elizabeth everything he could. "

On the day of Raymond's wedding, Eisen stood behind Raymond as the best man in the solemn and solemn church. He could see that Raymond, who had always been calm and calm, was nervous, but he was pretending to be calm.And at the moment when the church door opened, he suddenly heard Raymond's exclamation.Then he and everyone around him saw Elizabeth holding her father's arm. She was wearing a white wedding dress, a long and light veil on her head, and her makeup was exquisite and perfect, just like those noble princesses who lived in castles in the Middle Ages Same.

Raymond later told him that the tens of seconds when Elizabeth walked towards him was the longest time in his life, as if a century had passed, and he spent his whole life with Elizabeth in that century.

"I am very envious of Raymond. After that, I often wonder whether I will be like him in the future, walking into the palace of marriage with my lover hand in hand, swearing an oath in front of the priest, and saying to the person I love' yes, Ido', put a ring on him."

Aisen held Tang Cen's hand and stood at the fork in the road.The moment he saw Tang Cen standing at the door of the company waiting for him that day, he had already spent his whole life with Tang Cen in his heart, from Paris to London, and maybe China, to Tang Cen's hometown.

The red light in front of them kept flashing, the traffic flow continued, and the pedestrians beside them passed them by in a hurry.They seem to have integrated into this society, but also seem to be silently separated by the flow of people.

After the red light flickered for a few seconds, the green light turned on. Eisen lifted his foot and took a step forward, but was pulled back by Tang Cen who was standing still.

Eisen turned his head to look at him in surprise, Tang Cen quickly raised his head to look at him, and then quickly looked away.

Tang Cen didn't speak, and remained silent until the people coming and going around him completely dispersed, and the green light flickered again and turned into a red light, then Eisen heard his voice: "I actually thought about it too...but at that time There's no point in thinking about it other than to make yourself aware of how bad your life really is."

Eisen's words were full of expectations for the wedding, but Tang Cen didn't dare to look forward to it. The fear he imagined would sneak into his dreams in the dead of night.

At about the same age, Tang Cen also went to a wedding banquet with his father, but the wedding banquet that was supposed to be happy and harmonious was full of hypocrisy and deception, leaving Tang Cen with bad memories.

With the polite blessings and flattery, everyone had fake smiles on their faces. The young and sensitive Tang Cen could tell that the newlyweds were not in love, and only got back the two red wedding books for various reasons. As a proof, put a metal ring on your ring finger.

The newcomer stood on the stage with a smirk, like a rare animal for people to visit.

Why do two people who don't love each other get married?Tang Cen at the time couldn't understand the dirty deal behind this marriage, and of course those adults whose interests were linked to each other wouldn't tell him the reason.